There was no doubt that last week’s fight between Racquel Pennington and Jessamyn Duke was a great one. Of course, we didn’t necessarily expect to see Dana White offering “Rocky” coaching tips. I remember after the fight, we all got in the van, and we all saw Dana pulling her aside. We were all curious what he was saying, and I kind of assumed he was just giving her a congratulations.

I definitely understand Dana now more from the show. He doesn’t like ground guys too much, at least ones who aren’t looking to finish. He respects people who go out there and finish fights, and he really hates people who are just one-dimensional and try to lie on you. He kind of favors the standup wars, but I think that’s just because that’s what fans like to see more, and he’s in the entertainment business. Of course, he also comes from a boxing background himself, so when he saw that great standup war from the ladies, he was really entertained, and he really liked what he saw in “Rocky.”

So we were all in the van going like, “Man, I wonder what he’s telling her?” Then she comes into the van, and we’re trying to get it out of her, but she didn’t say s–t. She just kind of kept to herself, and we were like, “Come on! What did he tell you?” But she wouldn’t say anything. But I figured it was some pointers or how he enjoyed it and just encouraging her to keep going.

Back at the house, it was Father’s Day, and watching it back on TV definitely was emotional. All the fathers in the house were pushing the production people to maybe get a call back home to talk to their kids, but I don’t think they let that happen. I didn’t see Cody Bollinger break down like that, but I was moved by it during the episode. I can imagine being away from your baby kid that long has got to be tough. I respect all those guys for putting in on the line and leaving their family and making those sacrifices to chase their dreams.

Fortunately for me, I’m used to not seeing my family for long periods of time as it is, so this is kind of my lifestyle. I train a lot during the day and talk to my parents over the phone when I can. So I was doing OK. I had my goals in mind, and I was totally focused on the task.

Dana made another appearance in this episode as he tried to prevent the prank between our teams. I saw our coaches setting that thing up. Dennis Hallman was crazy. He was climbing the rafters, and production had to come out and talk to him. He climb the rigging like a monkey – no ropes or anything – all the way to the top. I’m not so sure Dana actually crawled up there and pulled those pictures down, but watching Dennis was funny. I thought this was going to get them good.

I think Ronda Rousey and her team, from seeing how they reacted to other pranks and seeing how confrontational its been all season between the coaches, I don’t think Dana wanted to see any more escalation of that stuff. Like he said, he wanted to give the fighters 100 percent attention and opportunity, and he didn’t want distractions for the fighters. I respect that. I think it would have been a distraction, for sure, if some more conversation happened. It would have taken away from practice and whatnot.

It’s funny though, in previous seasons they did tons of pranks in the house. Any time we tried to do anything as far as a prank or something, the production warned us about it. I think maybe they were trying to get to stopping the pranks and focus more on the fighters and telling their stories and being more of that type of a show instead of, “Oh, we’re f—ing with someone’s bed.” They’re trying to focus more on the fighters, and that’s OK with me. I don’t want anybody spritzing in my bed or jizzing in my sushi. I respected that for sure.

As for the fight, it was a good one. Josh Hill nearly ended it in the first with that rear-naked choke. I thought it was close watching live, but when I watched it last night, it was even closer than I thought. I think a big part of not finishing it was Josh being on his back and being crushed against the cage. He couldn’t get that extra little pull or squeeze that he needed. Had Josh been on top with him flattened out or maybe in the center of the cage where he had more leverage to arch, I think it might have been done. But man, I give credit to Michael Wootten for sticking through that and fighting those hands and escaping, eventually coming out on top. I think a lot of people would have tapped to that choke.

In the second, Josh went for a guillotine, and it ended up costing him. I honestly didn’t think that was a great attempt. I think he wrapped the head and felt maybe he felt a little separation or was getting a little tired and was like, “F–k it, I’m going to stop this scrambling game and go for a guillotine.” It wasn’t too tight around the neck, and he just didn’t have the angle. As soon as he fell for it, I could tell it wasn’t there. I think it was just a little out of desperation.

In that position, there’s something you feel as soon as you lock it up. If it feels tight right when you wrapped the head and get the position on the neck, and if you have the right angle and the elbow that you’re grabbing under the chin is a little bit higher and you have a right angle, you know it. An another thing, he was against the cage again, which makes it even tougher since you don’t have the room to arch out. So when it’s that close of a fight, I don’t think jumping for a guillotine to your back is the best thing to do. If you don’t get it, your opponent’s on top and winning the fight. Josh went for the kill, but it just didn’t pay off.

The final two matchups were set, but I was already thinking ahead to my next fight. After my first fight, I was already thinking about my next opponent. So it was just about playing the waiting game, trying to stay in the best shape possible and looking to stay injury free. In the meantime, I was just watching things play out. I definitely saw how tough Wootten was in this fight, but Davey Grant looked like a tough guy, too.

On a side note, I was really sad to hear about the passing of Tuff-N-Uff President Barry Meyer. I was on Facebook, and I saw his brother Jeff post something about it, and I was shocked, to be honest. I’ve known Barry for quite some time now, and he was always very joyful and a very cool dude. He was very supportive.

I’ve been around people who’ve suffered from depression, and it’s no joke. My dad had trouble with it for a bit, and it’s a sucky thing. It’s one reason for me, in my life, it’s really important for me to always stay positive and be happy and enjoy what I’m doing. Battling depression is such a difficult road for those affected, and my condolences certainly go out to the Meyer family.

Barry was always very supportive of me. He helped me launch my MMA career. I had six fights with Tuff-N-Uff. I held the belt. He was always a super cool dude, and he’s going to be missed by many.

ALBANY, N.Y. – MMAjunkie is on scene and reporting live from today’s UFC Fight Night 102 event at Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y., which kicks off at 5:45 p.m. ET (2:45 p.m. PT). You can discuss the event here.

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